


Empty Quadrants

by PredictableDisaster



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Domestic, Earth C Au, Gen, octoberstuck, rosemary, rosemary kid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:42:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26996086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PredictableDisaster/pseuds/PredictableDisaster
Summary: A small conversation on feelings.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Empty Quadrants

**Author's Note:**

> this is a small fic i made for my kidstuck au bc my tablet wouldn't work. it's a convo bet karkat and my rosemary kid, astrea. anyway have fun

“I’m just saying,” Astrea says, waving her spoon in the air. “A dull pencil lost in the infinite realms of Paradox Space has more chemistry with ver than the main love interest.”

Karkat snorts in response. He scrapes the rest of the ice cream in his mug before making a vague sound of agreement to his niece.

“He wouldn’t even be fit to be a proper auspistice for ver and his main foil. Too whiny and self-serving.” She adds.

“You’re not wrong there. I used to hold the award for being the most self-aggrandizing, self hating asshole you would ever fucking meet. It was like getting yourself some spicy ass blasting curry and then having fucking candy as it’s protein. A nightmare wrapped perfectly in a tiny mutant blood body served to you with a screaming grub chute.

“So I know,” he punctuates this by pointing at the rolling credits on the screen with his spoon. “What I’m saying when I say he’s a fucking asshole.”

Astrea bursts out laughing at that, tipping her mug over and dripping the tiniest bit of ice cream onto the floor. He’ll clean that later, it’s not a big deal really seeing that they have plates of lunch and snacks on the table still sitting there. The next movie’s starting up anyway and he’s not in the mood to pause it and clean up.

She places her mug down onto the table before sinking back in the couch. “I’m just saying he’s not worth the effort to be put into any quadrant.”

“I don’t disagree but what do you even know about quadrant compatibility? You barely even like anyone outside of our giant human-troll-cherub family circle. Actually,” he reaches for the bag of sweet corn chips on their little junk pile. “What do you feel about quadrant shit? I don’t really see you watching a lot of movies focusing on that despite your moms being aficionados of shittacular quadrant novels.”

“Your tastes are no better, uncle.”

“Excuse you, I indulge in only the highest quality shit that could come out of someone’s ass.”

Astrea gives him a smirk and it takes him a second before sighing at his own words. “Don’t tell Dave I said that, he won’t shut up if you do. Actually. Don’t tell Kagang either, he’d have a fucking fieldday.”

His niece laughs at him before offering up a shrug. “It’s true that my parents love that particular genre of media. I won’t say they don’t have conversations about it, but it’s always a toss up of it being an actual discussion of the material or a flirting competition between the two of them. You would never know which way it would go and everyday was a surprise.” She says, smiling in exasperated fondness.

“But I suppose personally? I don’t have any strong or particularly prominent opinions on the whole system.” She sinks further into the couch, absently fiddling with her shirt. “I find it interesting and nice in a way that it appeals to the part of me that likes things organized and in neat little boxes. But I also understand that emotions don’t stay into those neat little boxes at all times. Things criss-cross and lines are blurry and it’s-”

She struggles to end her thought and eventually with a small shrug a muttered word. ”Complicated.”

“That’s... A pretty well thought out answer.” He tilts his head at her. 

She gives him a small, sad smile. “I’ve wondered about it fairly regularly given that my immediate family have a rather large fascination and interest towards it. Looking at my mothers, especially, has me wondering if I’ll ever experience what they have.

“I’m not just talking about their gigantic gay romance.” She clarifies with a chuckle. “I’m also talking about their other relationships. Mama and your inexorable moirallegiance. Mom and Uncle Dave’s unflinching siblingship. The smoothness and comfort they have when they’re with everyone else-” She looks off to nowhere with dull eyes. “I fear that I’ll never have that.”

She shrugs. “I suppose I shouldn’t fear it too much. Kagang is the closest I have to both a moiral and brother, even though it’s not like what you have. And I’m sure if I were meant to fill the rest of those quadrants, I’ll meet those people. But it’s just- not very encouraging when I feel nothing but ambivalence for half of those categories.”

There is a beat of heavy silence, Astrea looking much dimmer than he’s seen her in awhile.

“It might sound like bullshit coming from me.” Karkat starts off softly. "But you don’t really need to feel a specific way about people to have them be in your quadrant. or even be acquainted with them.”

Astrea glances at him and he gives her a small smile. “There’s no guideline or template on how to feel about someone; there’s not much rules other than ‘don’t bring each other down’.

“Your experience with relationships are different per person. It’s like grub; no one makes it the same way. Ever.” He picks up one of the cookies and tosses it to Astrea.

“Jane’s cookies are different from your mom’s. Dirk’s smoothies are different from Jake’s. Dave’s curry is a different shit show from golden curry blocks.” He makes a disgusted face at even the thought of it. “That’s just an affront to this fucking universe. It’s instant ‘curry’ in a block but shitty. It tastes like garbage gargled by a compost pit spat out into a biohazard swamp that was shit on by every living thing on this planet. It’s an affront to nature. I should know, I was there when we were figuring that part of this new world.”

She chuckles at that, turning her cooking around in her hands. Karkat smiles a little at her and continues. “It’s all different and you don’t hear anyone telling you the perfect way to enjoy them. And if you do, their sponge cages need a cleaning because streamlining an experience that’s supposed to be your own thing is just as doomed as a dead session.”

Karkat ruffles her hair. “So just feel however you want. And if any discount nookstain tells you otherwise,” he gestures around in a general sweeping motion. “You have a literal godly family to back you the fuck up.”

Astrea looks at him for a beat before smiling quietly at him. “Thank you, oh master of quadrants, for enlightening me with your wisdom.”

He raises an eyebrow at her before pinching her nose. “I’ll publish a fucking essay for you if you fucking prefer, you high class academia fucker.”

She laughs, still clogged by Karkat’s hand on her nose. She swats his arm away but the older troll is relentless and the two get into a mild tussle. After a moment of trying to win the upper hand and failing, the two settle back down and finally decide to do a little clean up as they listen to their movie patter on.

**Author's Note:**

> if you're interested in the au [ here's some stuff i've made abt 'em ](https://chezforshire.tumblr.com/tagged/earth%20c%20kids%20au)


End file.
